As parents, we always seem to be forking over money for one thing or another. But it’s the small-unexpected expenses that catch us off-guard. Often times, we budget enough money for the essentials, gas, food, bills and a mortgage. However, we seem to get side swiped by the extra money that we need for school field trips, Friday pizza, school fundraisers and other minor expenses. Items like these are what I call the Hidden Cost of Parenting, or the Hidden Cost of Living.

For instance, you send your child to a great school. The only catch is that the school asks for quarterly fundraiser donations, where a mountain of candy is sent home for you to sell but never seems to sell out. This is a great ways to cut costs for the parents, right? Well, guess who ends up buying that candy? You, of course, because we MUST support our kids! What about the field trips where the destination just happens to be 100 miles away? This one trip can blow your week’s gasoline budget out of the water (if you have a budget).

Being a good parent calls for a lot of work and anticipated expenses; but it is these hidden costs that we do not prepare for or even notice. Well, there is a solution to this problem that will help stop the hemorrhaging of money. It’s called “Glove Compartment Cash (GCC).”

This is similar to the petty cash that a business keeps for minor expenses, except these monies are for expenses associated with your children’s school affairs. GCC is a small amount of paper money that you set aside each week only for unexpected occasions. You can seal it in an envelope or have it placed on a prepaid debit card, and keep it in the glove compartment of your car. For safety precautions, simply use a visa prepaid debt card, which you can get from any Walgreens or CVS store.

GCC should be no more than $100 a month, keeping in mind that some months you won’t have a need for this money at all. However, there are three laws of GCC:

1. GCC should never be used for things like fast food. - Once you form a habit of using this money for fast food purchases, it will be gone within days! Children have a hard time passing McDonalds or Wendy’s without pouring on about how hungry they are. If your child needs a snack after school, add that expense into you grocery budget and keep a few snacks in the trunk.

2. GCC should only be used for gasoline when associated with school activities. - A school activity is not defined as a typical drop-off and pick-up of your children to and from school. Reserve GCC for those trips where you are a chaperone and must drive to meet the children on site.

3. Resist, Resist, Resist - There will come a day when you have accumulated a few hundred dollars in GCC. On these days, tell yourself, “this money can be used in some other way.” This is when you should resist the most. Remember, as a parent the last thing you would ever want to tell your child is “I can’t afford for you to go on a field trip.” Think of how that would make you and your child feel, or in some cases, how it has already made you feel.

Parenting is full of responsibility; let’s embrace it! By preparing for the unforeseen cost associated with being a parent, we empower and liberate ourselves from day-to-day stress, adding years to our lives, years that we can spend with our children and grandchildren.